


Dondi

by Anatemnein



Category: Designing Women
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-23
Updated: 2019-09-23
Packaged: 2020-10-26 21:15:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20748872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anatemnein/pseuds/Anatemnein
Summary: When Anthony breaks the news to his grandmother that he is dating Julia, she is less than thrilled.





	1. Chapter 1

~~~~

Julia stood at the counter, stirring her tea lazily as she thought intently about the concept board she and Mary Jo had put together for one of their new clients. They were redoing a bedroom suite to match the new boyfriend the former-Mrs. Lexil had found herself, and while Julia thought the relationship was appalling–as were their tastes–she had shut her mouth as best as she could and mustered the professionalism required to see the job to completion.

But she still hated them, regardless.

She heard the backdoor close and turned to see Anthony coming inside, shaking the snow off of his jacket. They had been dating each other for nearly a month now, and, though the relationship was still new, she was surprised at how comfortable things were between them. She supposed the old saying, ‘date someone you can be friends with’ was sound advice after all.

“Hi Anthony” she said softly, smiling gently at him.

He grinned, noticing they were alone, and came up behind her, sliding his hands around her waist while she stirred her tea, eliciting a giggle from her.

“Heyyy, baby” he said, smiling as he rested his chin on her shoulder and kissed her cheek. He squeezed her gently, enjoying the softness of her blouse against his fingers and the smell of roses that perfumed her hair.

Julia had always hated the word 'baby’ as a term of endearment. So much so, in fact, that in college she’d broken off a perfectly fine relationship over the simple fact that her beau at the time refused to stop using it. So she really couldn’t understand why, when Anthony said it, it made her smile instead of making her want to break his teeth in, but she supposed the sincerity of it could’ve been the reason. That, and the fact that, when they were around others, he called her 'Julia’, putting business before pleasure when it was necessary. She knew that, in a round about way, that was a sign of respect, and she liked him even more for letting her be the boss when the circumstances required it.

“Whatcha working on over there?” he asked, pointing his chin toward the couch where the concept board sat, ¾ of the way finished.

She sighed. “The concept board for that awful Mrs. Lexil” she said, rolling her eyes as he released his grip on her and they made their way toward the sofa. “I didn’t think I’d ever meet a human being that made me wish I had died before meeting her, but somehow or other she makes me sorry to be alive in the same space time continuum as the one she presently occupies.”

Anthony laughed, sitting down beside her and shaking his head. “Well you know, if you had died, I might’ve had to settle for dating Lita or Vanessa still” he said, nudging her gently.

Julia smirked as she turned toward him and shoved his chest playfully. “Don’t make the dead me jealous, Anthony Bouvier” she said in that silky voice he loved so much.

He lifted a curl off of her shoulder and was about to pull her in for a kiss when the front door opened, causing both of them to turn away from each other, Julia toward her concept board and tea, Anthony toward…nothing in particular, except for the lamp to his right which he was presently trying to feign intense interest in.

“Hey, y'all” Charlene said happily, blithely unaware she’d interrupted anything as she sat in the chair to the left of the sofa.

“How’d everything go at Mr. Krigg’s, Charlene?” Julia asked as casually as she could, trying to pretend she didn’t feel the flush of warmth that rose in her chest when Anthony touched her. They hadn’t dated long enough for things to get physical, but Julia couldn’t help thinking that, when the time came for things to progress to that level, she wouldn’t be disappointed.

“Very wellll, he loves his new office suite, and has recommended us to a few of his big-name friends” Charlene said, smiling excitedly, feeling a deep sense of pride over the fact that one of her decorating jobs had received such enthusiastic response. She knew she wasn’t nearly as savvy and experienced as Julia–who she’d once seen approve and reject every inch of one of her and Mary Jo’s first concept boards within the span of 45 seconds–but she knew she’d grown a lot since joining Sugarbaker’s five years ago, and was happy to see she was, as her mother would say, “well on your way to somewhere, baby”.

“I’m so glad to hear that, Charlene. That office suite was a knock-out, for sure” Julia said, knowing Charlene needed the affirmation that her work was good.

Anthony nodded in agreement. “I never was one to want an animal head over my desk, but you made it seem almost logical, Charlene” he said, smiling at her teasingly. Julia shook her head and smiled, throwing him a wry look as she prayed he wouldn’t ever decide to like taxidermied animal heads. She wasn’t sure she could kiss a man standing beneath the disapproving stare of a wild ram.

Mary Jo stepped through the front door, followed by Suzanne, both of them shaking the snow off of their collars, and wiping desperately at their hair. Anything to keep it from melting enough to slide down their necks.

“Mary Jo, how’d things go with the Beacham’s?” Julia asked.

Mary Jo threw Suzanne a look, and both of them shook their heads solemnly, as Mary Jo said, “Let’s just say these people have a lizard addiction, and if I learn one thing from this job, it’s that I never want to decorate for someone who calls their Iguana’s 'our precious lovebugs’.”

Anthony wrinkled his nose. “Uh-uh” he said in disgust.

“Uh huh” Suzanne replied, looking at Julia. “You owe me big, big sister.”

Julia sighed and leaned back against the sofa. “Well, you don’t think this’ll impact your ability to work with them, do you?”

Mary Jo shook her head. “No, but it’ll impact my desire to eat oatmeal with dinosaur eggs with my kids again” she said, her stomach turning at the thought.

“Do y'all have anything planned this weekend?” Charlene asked suddenly, eyeing Anthony and Julia curiously.

They stiffened. They did, in fact, have something planned, but since their plans did not include the three other people sitting in this room, now eyeing them conspicuously, Julia straightened her shoulders and said, “Not much, Charlene. You, Bill, and Olivia have fun at that movie festival” she said, smiling reservedly, switching the topic of conversation on Charlene in a way that made it impossible for anyone else to entreat on the business of her plans with Anthony.

Mary Jo and Suzanne shot one another a look, and decided to take the hint and not pry, as Charlene slinked back in her chair. The rocky start to Julia and Anthony’s relationship–which was, due in large part, to their prying–had not been forgotten, and both women knew that, in all fairness, their discreetness was smart indeed. So they let well enough alone, discussed their own plans for the weekend instead, and eventually all bid one another goodnight, with Anthony being the last to leave, so he could share a steamy kiss with Julia, which he’d been wanting all day.

“You ready to face the music tomorrow?” he asked, smiling at her as he slowly let her go and slipped into his coat. The music he referred to, was none other then Dondi Toussand, who knew Julia Sugarbaker as Anthony’s boss, not as Anthony’s girlfriend. Come tomorrow, however, that would change.

“I think so” Julia said shyly, rubbing her hands together somewhat nervously. She’d met Mrs. Toussand before, and knew there was nothing to be scared of, but she also knew that being on the receiving end of her penetrating gaze under these circumstances was a different story.

Anthony wrapped a hand around Julia’s waist and kissed her on the forehead. “Don’t worry, baby, it’ll be alright” he said, reassuringly.

She smiled and watched him drive off, shutting the door softly. The butterflies in her stomach refused to rest, but these were butterflies of a different nature. Not so nice, not so pleasant.


	2. Chapter 2

The car rumbled to a stop on Dondi’s snow-covered driveway, her small but cozy house staring at Anthony and Julia warmly as they trudged through the few inches of snow. Anthony gazed in amazement at Julia, who balanced precariously but elegantly on her heels in spite of the slippery ground beneath her. If there was one thing he did know about her, it’s that her elegance was a feature that was hard to come by in a woman, and harder still to ever work out of her, if anything could even separate her from it. He had a vision of her in the grips of senility and blindness, hair and makeup still immaculately done, and smiled as they walked up the steps to the front porch and he rang the bell with a gloved hand.

He looked over at Julia again and noticed she was staring nervously at the ground, fidgeting slightly. She’d been quiet the whole ride here, and he wasn’t sure why. She knew his grandmother; his grandmother liked everyone at Sugarbaker’s–and Julia especially so–and he found her silence somewhat disarming.

“Julia,” he said softly, placing a hand on her back and rubbing it, “it’s gonna be alright.”

She smiled at him, but broke eye contact rather quickly, stepping away from him as she heard the door swing open.

His confusion turned to pleasure as he embraced his grandmother warmly. She ushered them inside, asked them how their drive was–not too bad, 45 minutes long now that she’d moved closer to Anthony–and eventually they found themselves sitting down to dinner, the smell of her traditional southern cooking swirling pleasantly around the kitchen.

“It’s just such a pleasure to see you here, Ms. Sugarbaker, alongside my grandbaby. You know, he makes me so proud everyday, and I never forget the reason that he’s come so far” she said, looking gratefully at Julia and thinking warmly, still, of the fact that she’d been the only one to give Anthony a chance when he first left prison.

Julia smiled warmly at her, trying to quell her nerves as she said, “The pleasure is mine, Mrs. Toussand” sliding her chair forward just far enough to sit comfortably in front of her plate.

Dondi gazed in amazement at Julia as inconspicuously as she could. She’d seen a lot of women in her time, some beautiful, some ugly, some somewhere in between the two, but Julia was a woman who even Dondi Toussand felt pleasure looking at. Not sexual pleasure, per say, but she could imagine rather easily what it was like for the men who’d loved and lost Julia in their lifetimes, and she wondered what it took to interest a woman like that. What, to her, was pleasure, what was pain? In spite of the fact that she’d crossed paths with Julia a few times, there was an air of sadness and mystery in those eyes that mystified Dondi Toussand to no end; something lonely there, something inside that persisted in spite of her success, both personally and professionally. Something always a little broken.

Anthony caught the look on his grandmother’s face just before her eyes broke contact with Julia and she reached for her glass of water. He recognized the same mysticism in her eyes that he’d felt every time he was near Julia, and he was glad, because it wasn’t the look of disapproval she usually carried when meeting anyone else he’d ever dated. Julia always fascinated him in equal measure, for much the same reasons she’d interested Dondi, and a few other reasons as well, that had everything to do with being a man.

They began eating, and ate silently for a few moments before Dondi said, “Well, I’ve been so busy shoveling away my mashed potatoes I hadn’t even really asked to what I owe the pleasure of this visit. Anthony’s already made partner, has he worked up to Vice President already?” as she tilted her head playfully, or, as playfully as a strict former-schoolteacher knew how to.

Anthony and Julia stopped eating, and he looked at Julia carefully, who looked away rather quickly again.

“No, no, Dondi, this visit is a bit different, although something has changed, you’re right about that” he said, setting down his fork, and looking carefully at his grandmother.

She leaned forward a touch and smiled, curious as to where he was going with this. No inkling, no inkling whatsoever, but in hindsight she would be amazed she didn’t have one.

“Well, what’s changed, Anthony?” she asked quietly.

Anthony looked at Julia and took her hand in his, as she looked shyly at him, at Dondi, and then at the table.

“Well, Julia and I are dating each other, Dondi. I wanted to tell you so you wouldn’t feel left out of the loop of my life, so to speak. You know I always liked being honest with you as a boy, and that hasn’t changed.”

Dondi froze, and her eyes moved slowly from his face to Julia’s, who was looking at her shyly. She could tell that Julia had had some sense of foreboding; those eyes gave it away. She was, apparently, still more keen than her grandson.

“Dating?” she asked, coolly.

Anthony shifted uncomfortably, narrowing his eyes in confusion. “Yes, yes Dondi, each other, dating each other” he said, his confidence dropping suddenly. Something about this conversation was not right, and he felt a certain wave of dread building in him for reasons that, now, suddenly, he was keen to as well.

Dondi looked for a moment down at the table, then back at her grandson, eyeing him coldly before speaking. “All the women in the world, and you decide that dating a privileged white woman who knows nothing about what it’s like to be a poor black man is a good idea?”

Anthony’s jaw dropped open in shock. Words escaped him, words that he’d found even in the trenches of the racism he still encountered, very occasionally, while working in Atlanta, from both the other side as well as his own.

“Dondi…” he said, too startled now to even think of what to say. He turned to look at Julia, who had since let go of his hand and was trying not to cry as she stared down at the table. He reached for her but she shook her head, and he slowly turned back to face his grandmother, equally appalled as well as confused. He’d taken her for many things in her time, but a racist was not one of those things.

“Don’t you 'Dondi’ me,” she said, shifting stiffly in her chair, “you know this relationship can’t possibly go anywhere. What about you do you think she can understand enough to love you?” She softened just a touch as she reached over to him. “I’m just telling you the ugly truth, Anthony, you both know you don’t have a future. Things may have changed since I was young, but they haven’t changed so much that you can mix oil and water.”

Anthony sat still in complete and utter shock when he felt Julia rise to her feet beside him.

“Please take me home” she said softly, tears sliding slowly down her cheeks.

“Baby…” he said softly, rising to his feet and reaching for her, but watching hopelessly as she withdrew from his touch again.

“Anthony” Dondi said, rising now as well, giving him a stern look that insinuated she expected him to, not only concede and admit she was correct, but to finish eating.

Julia turned and walked toward the front door, sliding her coat on shakily and stepping outside. Anthony watched her helplessly as he felt his grandmother reach for him.

“Sit down, Anthony” she said sternly.

He did, then, something he’d never thought himself capable of doing, and something he’d never, ever done in his life. All of his years of discipline, obedience, good manners, and sensibility couldn’t rival the power he felt when he looked at her and said, “No” as he shook her hand away. He walked toward the door, but he didn’t feel it. He knew, logically, his feet were hitting carpet, then wood floor, then the gravel outside, but really he felt as though he were wading through water.

He slid in the car beside Julia and tried again, but she faced the window and shook her head, tear after tear sliding down her perfect face.

He tried the whole way home, saying “Baby…”, “Julia…” over and over, but she didn’t answer. Finally he pulled into the driveway of her home, and shut the car off, turning to face her. “Julia” he said, grabbing her hands.

She paused, drawing in a shaky breath before looking up at him and pulling her hands away. “She’s right, Anthony.”

He was stunned, shaking his head in frustration. “No, no she’s not–”

Julia nodded her head sadly, cutting him off as she raised a shaky hand. She stared at her lap for a few moments, tears still slipping down her cheeks, and she finally willed herself to stop crying, somewhat. She drew in a shaky breath, pulling her coat closer to her in an effort to simulate the comfort of feeling arms wrapped around her. She turned her eyes to the snow covered structure that was her house, and to the dark, lonely night outside, which had been completely absent of light since this morning.

“I don’t know what I’ve been thinking,” she mumbled, shaking her head and wiping in frustration at her cheeks, “but I owe you an apology, Anthony.”

“No–” he started again, trying to reach for her, more out of fear than anything else.

She shook her head and drew further inside her coat. “Yes, yes I do. I’m your boss. I’ve always been your boss, since I’ve known you…and I breached professional boundaries by allowing my feelings to get in the way of my ability to make a sensible, responsible decision.” She wiped her face again, looking now at her lap. “I don’t know why I…we’ve always…I don’t know what I thought…” she trailed off again, frustrated. The knowledge that she was being insincere with him slid into her consciousness, and she stifled it as firmly as any dark feeling she’d ever had that had ever bothered her. She knew their relationship began for a reason, for a good reason, for a few good reasons even…but she knew more so that it had to end for one very good reason.

She bit her lip and did the hardest thing she’d ever done and looked into his eyes as she spoke. “You and I are world’s apart, Anthony. Dondi is right. What am I supposed to be able to give you that could make you happy for the rest of your life? I can only sympathize with your experiences, with your childhood, with your time in prison. I don’t know those things, I don’t know anything beyond what I’ve lived…and I also can’t give you a child, which you’ve always wanted.”

Anthony was crying now, though she saw he was trying not to. She reached a hand toward him and stroked his arm. “I’m sorry, darlin’, but we can’t see each other anymore. I can’t keep you from being with someone…someone else, Anthony…”

With that, she opened the car door and stepped outside, walking as swiftly to her front door as her heels would allow on the snow-covered ground. She shut the door firmly, and sank to her knees as she cried, crying even harder as she heard the sound of Anthony’s car pulling out of her driveway.

She didn’t know she could find the strength to look into his eyes and break his heart, but she had. For his sake, she’d reasoned. For a good reason, she’d reasoned. She didn’t know much about how Sunday was because she wasn’t really cognizant of anything around her at that point. She felt heavy, tired and heavy; the depression that always followed Julia, for the whole of her life–somewhat dormant–sprang to new life now, and was so vicious that she worked on Sunday.

For 12 hours she sat downstairs, hair and makeup done as though there were other people there, and she worked, because the emptiness that always followed her was now something like a person, and that dark figure was so near to her that she was afraid of what would happen if she stopped working. So she didn’t.

For his part, Anthony was afraid of what would happen if he started anything. He laid in bed, in the dark, all of Sunday. There were colors in the room around him, but not that he perceived. The room was weirdly blank. Not grey, not black and white, just void.

Dondi called, or she tried to. He knew it was her, but he didn’t answer the phone. He let it ring all day.

He thought she probably expected an apology from him for his behavior. He thought she had lost her entire mind, expecting anything from him at all right now. Eventually the phone either stopped ringing or he stopped hearing it.


	3. Chapter 3

Mary Jo, Charlene, and Suzanne stood like statues at the counter, eyeing Julia intently at her seat behind her desk. Mary Jo knew as soon as she’d walked in that morning that something had happened, but Julia refused to talk.

“Dondi didn’t…think it was a good idea…” Julia had said very softly, and that was really all she’d said. So Mary Jo managed to piece together, with just a few other fragments she’d managed to elicit from Julia, that Dondi’s reaction to Anthony dating someone outside of both his race and socioeconomic class had been less than stellar, and somewhere between dinner on Saturday night and Monday morning when she’d walked into work, Anthony and Julia had ended their relationship.

If Mary Jo knew anything, she knew that Julia’s stubbornness had probably reared its ugly head, and that the relationship had ended at her insistence. She knew Julia well enough to know that Julia wouldn’t buck Anthony’s grandmother, just out of respect for the simple fact that she’d raised him, if nothing else. Julia was strong-headed when she wanted to be, but she was also steeped in tradition, and she wouldn’t want to be with someone if she became a wedge between that person and their family. Mary Jo looked disappointedly at the counter and thought that, for once, Julia should’ve been more stubborn.

Julia looked normal, at a distance. Her hair was immaculate, makeup immaculate, clothes immaculate, really nothing to an untrained eye looked off. But when Julia had looked at the three of them that morning, the blank look in her eyes had been enough to frighten even Suzanne, who, unbeknownst to Mary Jo and Charlene, had seen Julia’s depression surface before, and recognized that look instantly. But even when it had, the river had never run as deep as it did now.

“She must’ve worked all Sunday,” Suzanne said quietly, staring at Julia, “everything is done. I mean, everything. Concept boards, invoices that needed filing, phone calls that needed returning. She did her work, then our work.”

“Have you ever seen her like this, Suzanne?” Charlene asked fearfully.

Suzanne shook her head solemnly. “No, the worst it got was when Hayden died, and even then, Julia knew it was coming. She could brace herself, we all did, even Payne.”

Charlene shifted in frustration. “I just don’t understand. Julia is the most collected, hardworking, caring person we know, how could she not be enough for Dondi?”

“It’s not that, Charlene” Mary Jo said, wearily. “Dondi is upset because Julia is white.”

Charlene and Suzanne drew their heads back in shock. “Well, what difference does that make,” Suzanne hissed, “Dondi knew Anthony was working with four white women from the get-go.”

Mary Jo rolled her eyes wearily, amazed that they weren’t catching on. “Don’t you get it? Dondi comes from a different time, and in her time, black people and white people did not mix, period. She’s probably had her share of bad experiences, and while she didn’t pass that jadedness along to Anthony, she probably also didn’t think that he’d, you know, fall for a girl from the other side of the tracks.”

“But Julia and Anthony have a lot in common” Charlene countered.

“But Dondi doesn’t know that. All she knows is Anthony grew up without parents, and Suzanne and Julia grew up never knowing what it was like to go without anything. And she’s worried that eventually, he’ll figure that out and get his heart broken.”

“So Dondi thought she’d beat him to the punch and break it for him?” Suzanne hissed in annoyance.

Mary Jo shrugged and they turned back toward Julia, who was still steadily working away at her desk. Anthony had come in, sort of. They could tell neither he nor Julia had eaten anything for the last 36 hours, and he looked as blank as she did, as he trudged through the store, doing whatever required doing without making eye contact with anyone or anything. Mary Jo thought it probably felt like a morgue in here to anyone who walked in. She wanted to yell out, “We’re not always this exciting” to people coming through the door.

Anthony had left promptly at five; he’d set down his work, said goodbye to the three of them, and just left. Julia didn’t evince any sort of reaction either way to that, or to him at any point in the day. Charlene thought it was like watching robots interact. They talked when they had to; Mary Jo had figured out that Anthony had tried to talk to Julia, as he was already there before she came in that morning, but nothing had come of his attempts so he just shut down like Julia did.

It was nearing 5:30, and the three of them were getting tired, and were just about to make a move to leave when the door swung open, and a small, older woman stepped in through the front door.

“I’m looking for Julia Sugarbaker” she said matter of factly.

At this, Julia has raised her head, and they all stared in silence as Julia locked eyes with Dondi Toussand.

Dondi paused for a moment, and when Julia said nothing, she’d shut the door behind her and turned toward Julia from her place by the front door.

“I need to talk to you, Ms. Sugarbaker, about you and Anthony.”

Julia had looked at Mary Jo, Suzanne, and Charlene, and was either preparing to ask them to throw Dondi out or to give them some privacy when Dondi said, “They can say. What I have to say to you can be said in front of your friends; it’s obvious to me they’ve been watching you and Anthony suffer all day.”

Julia stood, but paused briefly, not sure if she was ready to have this conversation. But Dondi’s face was so insistent that Julia had led Dondi to the sofa, and sat down to face her like a wolf faces another wolf that it didn’t prepared to encounter–nothing but bravery in her face, Dondi could see that.

She drew in a slowly breath and looked at Julia closely. “I’d begin by saying 'I’m sorry’, but that won’t help much, so I’m going to explain this to you as best I can” she said, lowering her eyes briefly, then meeting Julia’s again. She paused before continuing. “Anthony’s not the first person to fall in love with someone…on the other side of the tracks, so to speak.”

Julia’s face flinched, and she caught the meaning of what Dondi was telling her, but the part of her that was both hurt and angry refused to let the older woman off the hook so easily.

Dondi straightened her shoulders, and said matter of factly, “I did, too, once. It ended in heartbreak. Times were different then, and they’re different now, but maybe not so much.” She paused, regarding Julia carefully. “He was my first love…and I don’t want to see Anthony get hurt. You’d be surprised how complicated things can get.”

Julia had been silent while Dondi spoke, and for most of the morning, so her voice was dry and weary when she did finally use it. “Yes, yes I’ve seen how complicated things can get” she said coolly, staring the older woman down.

Dondi had never faced Julia–or any woman–in this way before where Anthony was concerned, but she had more respect than contempt for the icy stare she was now receiving. Deep down, she knew it meant that Julia cared very deeply for Anthony, and that her initial fears didn’t really have a place in their relationship.

Dondi nodded thoughtfully, then reached a hand toward Julia, placing it atop Julia’s pale, pretty hands. “I think you and I should pay Anthony a visit.”

Julia stared at Dondi for a few more moments before her face softened, and she bit the inside of her lip to keep her tears at bay. They’d sprung into her eyes anyway. She turned to Mary Jo, Charlene, and Suzanne, who all silently waved at her to leave, nodding simultaneously.

Dondi looked at Julia carefully the whole time, and that part of her that had always been mystified by those dark, sad eyes was mystified still. She knew where mystery was concerned, Julia held quite a lot, but she also held something sincere for Anthony, and Dondi latched onto the part she recognized as something similar to what she felt for her grandson.

The two women stood silently and left, and Dondi drove them across town to Anthony’s apartment.


	4. Chapter 4

Julia knocked firmly on the door to Anthony’s apartment, and both women waited a few moments before she said, “I guess he’s either not home or not interested.”

“Try calling his name,” Dondi offered, “he probably thinks it’s me. I rang his phone a hundred times Sunday night, and I know he doesn’t want to talk to me.”

Julia hesitated, not really knowing why he’d want to talk to her more than Dondi, but she took her advice and called out, “Anthony?”

They both waited for a few moments, and Julia sighed deeply and turned away when she heard the door open behind her.

Anthony’s face peered out at her through behind the door, and he opened the door a bit more when he noticed his grandmother and Julia standing side by side.

Julia waited to see if he’d say anything, but he merely looked surprised at the sight of the two of them, so she finally asked quietly, “Can we come in?”

Anthony hesitated a moment before stepping aside and letting them both inside. Julia noticed a half-eaten tub of Cherry Garcia on the counter, and knew that was the only thing he’d had to eat–probably the first thing–since dinner Saturday night. Usually, she would have admonished such behavior, in anyone, but he already had her beat by the simple fact that he’d eaten anything at all, and so she said nothing.

“We need to talk, all of us” Dondi said, breaking the silence. “But first, I need the two of you to stop acting like strangers and at least hug one another before I explain myself, because you’re making me uncomfortable.”

Julia turned slowly around to Anthony, and he hesitated a moment before slipping a hand around her waist, and finally his other hand as well, as she drew her arms around his neck. Dondi watched silently as he closed his eyes and buried his face in Julia’s long, dark curls, and when they let go of one another, she saw Julia reach up and wipe away a few stray tears.

She led them both to the living room where she relayed to him the same story she’d told Julia some 20 minutes before.

Anthony looked at her in surprise. “Dondi, you never told me–”

“Well, I haven’t told you everything. There’s a few things about me you don’t know, and don’t need to. I was a young woman, before your time. I wasn’t always a stern, old school teacher.”

Anthony sat in silence and absently laid a hand across Julia’s leg, caressing her knee, but looking steadily at his grandmother.

“So you really think that your experience will be my experience?” he asked, calmly but sternly.

Dondi opened her mouth to reply, but Anthony raised a hand firmly, his pajama sleeve sliding down to his elbow as he did so. “No, Dondi, you’ve always been the first to speak my whole life, but now I need you to let me get some things off my chest.”

He waited to see what she’d do, expecting her to contradict him, but she settled back into her seat after a few moments, and he continued.

“Julia was the first person to give me a chance when I got out of prison. In fact, she was the only person, but you already know that” he said, looking briefly at Julia and caressing her leg gently. “What you don’t know is that Julia has always been there to lend me a hand whenever I’ve had a problem. I had girl trouble, she talked to me. I got beat up in a laundry room, she bit the guy who punched me–”

At this, Dondi jerked her head back in surprise, and Julia looked at the floor in embarrassment.

“–she helped me write my graduation speech the night before it was due when all I had on paper was the word, 'Hi’, she didn’t fire me when Tyrone almost got both of us arrested, she told Beaumont to shove it when they only wanted to admit me for being black, and she not only helped me study for my classes but continuously pushed me to reach a potential not even I knew I could reach. And after all that, she made me a partner in Sugarbaker’s.”

Dondi looked at Anthony in surprise. He’d mentioned Julia enough for Dondi to suss out that he admired her, but not so much that she’d ever figured he was interested in her in a capacity that was more than friendly, and definitely not so much that he’d even mentioned to her any of what he’d just discussed.

He looked at Julia again, looking at her tenderly before caressing her leg again as she laid a hand atop his. “I know you said you were worried because Julia and I are from different sides of the track,” he said, looking gently at his grandmother, “but the truth is, we’ve always managed to meet each other somewhere in the middle of the tracks, and eventually we wised up and realized the differences between us weren’t so big after all.”

Julia smiled tenderly at Anthony, stroking his hand with her own before looking at Dondi and saying, “Just so you know, Mrs. Toussand, I don’t usually bite people.”

Both Dondi and Anthony laughed, and Anthony wrapped his arm around Julia and caressed her neck with his hand. Julia instinctively slid closer to him, pressing her cheek against his cheek, blushing as he kissed her temple.

Dondi watched them silently, noticing how easily they interacted with one another. That deep fascination she held for Julia bubbled up again as she watched her nestle herself against Anthony. Dondi hadn’t ever been able to imagine Julia with anyone, at all. She always seemed such a solitary character, maybe due largely to the strength of her character, and her general reserve. Somehow, some way, her grandson had managed to overcome whatever parts of herself Julia withheld from most everyone she knew, and they’d managed to form some sort of bond with each other. She guessed that the same was true for him. Anthony, too, had essentially been a solitary person all his life, all the way through high school, and especially after he got out of prison, and it wasn’t often that he welcomed any physical closeness with anyone, not to mention emotional openness. Dondi thought that this was largely her own fault; in spite of the fact that she’d tried to instill only good manners and a strong sense of dignity in Anthony, she realized now that what she’d really infused him with was her own jadedness, and she was even more impressed that someone had managed to help him overcome the cynicism that defined her character for most of her life.

They talked comfortably with one another for another hour or so, with Dondi gently trying to peel away the mystery surrounding Julia Sugarbaker by inquiring about her family. Mother lives abroad, father is dead and has been for a while, she has a half brother Clayton, a son Payne, and has been married once to a man who is, now, also deceased.

Dondi nodded slowly as Julia recalled a mostly happy childhood set against an affluent background, but was quick to note the sadness she detected in Julia’s voice when she mentioned the revolving door of men that dominated her childhood, due in large part to her mother’s inability to stop collecting and discarding husband’s. It was a disappointment Julia had hidden carefully from her mother, Dondi ascertained, but it was there nonetheless, and she noted that the same sense of abandonment that Julia would’ve felt early on was akin to what Anthony felt growing up without his parents.

Finally, conversation dwindled, and Dondi looked over at the clock, noting that it was now nearly 7:30 pm. She excused herself and rose to leave, surprised to see Julia follow suit.

“Julia, you don’t have to leave on my account. I’m leaving only because I’m old and if I don’t get a full eight hours I’m even older the next day. You go on and stay” she said gently, squeezing Julia’s arm.

Julia blushed and looked over at Anthony, then back at Dondi, realizing what Dondi has mistakenly assumed about their relationship.

“We sleep apart, still” she said softly, and it took Dondi a moment to realize that this was another thing that set their relationship apart from any of Anthony’s other relationships. Not that she and Anthony talked about that, per say, but she was smart enough to deduce that Anthony had enjoyed his popularity with women as he’d grown more successful professionally. She cocked her head slightly, and decided this was an aspect of Julia’s character she could definitely take to easily.

Anthony threw on his coat and walked outside with them, trudging through the snow in his slippers and out into the parking lot, where Dondi’s car was waiting. He hugged his grandmother and wished her a safe trip home, then turned toward Julia and wrapped a hand around her waist as he kissed her gently. Julia pulled back discreetly, but Anthony cocked a brow at her kissed her again, deeper this time, and Julia blushed and swatted him gently as she got into Dondi’s car.

The two women drove off, in silence at first, before Dondi finally spoke up.

“You and Anthony are a few years apart in age, am I correct?”

Julia stiffened in her seat, pausing before answering as politely as she could, “We are, yes”, but feeling somewhat miffed, nonetheless.

Dondi paused for effect before she said, “Good. Anthony’s a good man, but Lord knows he’s stubborn as an ox, and sometimes as foolish as a child. You’re probably the only woman with sense enough to handle that boy.”

Julia laughed quickly, relief washing over her. She had anticipated this might be the first conversation of that nature she would have during the course of their relationship, and she was all too happy that, for one person at least, the age gap was a benefit, not a hindrance.


	5. Chapter 5

“What about this one, Anthony?”

Julia sat perched on the edge of the sofa, holding up a fabric swatch to Anthony, who was more interested in eyeing her flirtatiously than helping her finish her concept board for Mrs. Lexil.

He dropped his eyes downward and let them travel from her blouse to her legs before puckering his lips and saying, “Hmm, well I think that works for me.”

She whacked him playfully, casting an eye up at the door. It was after hours, and everyone else had left save for Anthony. He had suggested to his grandmother, after their conversation that Monday evening, that she join he and Julia for dinner at The Southern Plate on Friday night.

“Is that where this whole adventure began?” Dondi quizzed him, holding the phone tightly to her ear.

Anthony had laughed and smiled to himself. He paused thoughtfully before saying, “You could say that”, and told her to meet them at Sugarbaker’s at 7 pm.

“Anthony, this will never get done if you keep flirting with the decorator” Julia said sarcastically, tossing the fabric swatch aside and looking at the concept board that needed only one final piece. She pilfered through the pile beside her, strewing a few pieces along the board o the table to see if she could make up her mind.

Anthony nodded over-zealously, waving his hands dramatically. “You’re right, Ms. Sugarbaker, I was completely out of line. I go one day without scrapping gum off the backroom floor, and I just get all full of myself!” He looked at her with a faux-sheepishness. “You’re probably dating someone right now anyway.”

Julia smirked playfully, deciding to play along with him. She sighed, pulling at a piece of fabric, and saying with mock seriousness, “I am, but I’m not sure how it’s going though.”

Anthony furrowed his brow and leaned his chin against the hand that was slung along the back of the couch. “Do tell” he said, affecting the tone of a gossipy coworker.

She sighed again, pushing her hair back over her shoulder, and crossing her legs as she folded her hands in front of her. “Well…well, it’s just that there’s this gentleman I work with–” she said, shooting him a serious look.

“Tall, dark, and mysterious?” Anthony said, narrowing his eyes.

She nodded meekly, tugging at her sleeve, and looking away. “Oh yes, but I don’t think he’s all that interested in me. I do things like this–” she paused as she opened one of the buttons of her blouse, allowing Anthony a glimpse of the space a few inches beneath her collarbone, “–but I don’t get any sort of reaction” she said, looking at him with a mock sadness.

Anthony bit his lower lip a moment before he scooted a little closer to her. “Well, I, I think I know the sort of reaction you’re looking for, and I might not be that lucky guy, but I can show you what I think he’d like to do” he said, flashing her the look of someone who is about to divulge a great secret.

Julia felt a flutter in her chest, but it was one of excitement. She knew Anthony wouldn’t try to sleaze his way upstairs with her by way of this little game, but she had a hunch that he had every intention of giving her a few more kisses than before.

“What’s that?” she asked softly, eyeing him with a girlish shyness he didn’t expect to see, but one that he found endearing, especially from a woman who was as universally alluring to men as she was. It was then that he recalled Julia had only been with two men in her life, and that in spite of her seasoned flirtatiousness, at heart she was a woman played her cards carefully when it came to sex. He didn’t know how far their relationship would progress in that regard–he remembered Suzanne mentioning that after her break-up with Reese, she’d withheld entirely out of self-consciousness (not something he felt he should know, but still)–but he knew Julia well enough to know that intimacy was important to her, and he knew himself well enough to know that, although he really liked sex, he liked Julia more than sex.

“Welll, it looks a little something like…” he said softly, drawing her onto his lap and looking at her carefully to make sure she was comfortable as he stroked her chin with his hand. Before he could do anything else, she slid an arm around his neck and leaned forward, kissing him shyly.

They broke apart for a few moments, before she knelt forward again and deepened the kiss, Anthony leaning back against the sofa and drawing her closer with one hand as he stroked her thigh with the other. He was surprised to hear her moan ever so slightly as he traced his fingers midway up her thigh, his brain realizing excitedly that they were effectively making out on the sofa in her living room. He felt like he did when he was shy, nervous, 17-year-old-first-time-kisser Anthony Bouvier.

Julia tightened her grip on his neck, trying to suppress her mounting pleasure in the interest of not getting ahead of herself as she drew a hand down Anthony’s chest, completely deaf to the front door that had already opened, and was in the process of shutting itself.

Dondi stared in amusement at them, remembering a time in her distant past when she’d had a similar experience behind the school house when she was nearly 19.

“I see I’m the only one still thinking about dinner” she said, smiling wryly.

Julia leapt to her feet, blushing deeply as she wiped the lipgloss that had traveled a bit beyond her lower lip line. “Mrs. Toussand!” was all that came out, in a hoarse, girlish whisper that sounded akin to the embarrassment a teenager feels after being seen by her parents.

Dondi shook her head easily, waving a hand at her. “Relax, I had a little fun that way once myself.”

“Dondi!” Anthony cried, jumping to his feet as well and straightening his jacket. Anthony suddenly remembered a conversation he’d had with Mary Jo’s son, Quinton, and his use of the phrase, “kinda a kill joy” as he wiped the lipgloss from around his mouth and bewailed his grandmother’s awful timing.

Dondi waved another hand as she turned back toward the door, opening it smoothly. “Next time, try not to take off all the lipgloss. We woman don’t come by that cheap.”

Anthony and Julia glanced at one another in embarrassment, moving to follow her while anxiously tugging their clothes back in place.

Dondi knew she’d have to tease Anthony about this later.


	6. Chapter 6

Julia and Anthony were leaning against the back of the booth, both eyeing Dondi warmly as she sat between them, relaying a funny story about a then-four year old Anthony, who, for some reason or another, had decided before church on Sunday that he wanted a peanut butter snack, and that the best way to make sure he had it when he was hungry was to spoon some into his pants pockets, something Dondi only realized when they were sitting next to one another in the pew and she saw him licking his left hand.

Julia giggled shaking her head as she took a sip of her water and turned back to Dondi. “Sure sounds like Anthony knew how to be a handful growing up.”

Dondi nodded, shooting Julia a sarcastic side glance as she said, “Yes he could, and now he’s your handful.”

Julia laughed as Anthony shook his head in embarrassment, shooting Julia a pointed look as he said, “Well, I’m not the only one.”

Anthony watched as Julia and Dondi laughed and talked together, amazed to see his grandmother loosen up in Julia’s presence. He didn’t know where his relationship with Julia would go exactly–they hadn’t dated long enough for him to think ahead to a future together–but he had a certain feeling that there was a strong chance there might be no other girlfriends.

Dondi, for her part, felt that same mysticism creeping into her chest each time Julia looked at her with her large, grey-green eyes, with those lashes that tipped upward like a feline. She felt a little more familiar with her now, but she also sensed there was more to know, and maybe things that she might never know. She looked over at her grandson as he and Julia shared a laugh about something that had happened a few weeks ago at work, and there was no mysticism in her chest when she did so. Instead, her brain offered one, factual thought:

“He’s going to fall in love with that girl.”


End file.
